Tag: Mohammad Rizwan

DUBAI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has regained the third spot on the T20I batter’s rankings, which he lost just a week ago, thanks to his brilliant century in the second T20I against England.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan has tightened his grip on the No.1 spot as he surged to 861 rating points following his sublime form in the ongoing T20I series between Pakistan and England.

According to the latest released rankings by the International Cricket Council on Wednesday, Babar has once again etched his name in the top three on the batter’s list with 799 rating points.

India’s Suryakumar Yadav edged past Babar with a difference of just two rating points as he jumped to the No.2 after his scintillating 69 off 36 in the third T20I against Australia.

However, the recent reshuffle in the batting charts propelled South Africa’s Aiden Markram to lose his No.2 spot as he slipped to the fourth position.

In the bowlers’ rankings, Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf improved his standings as he jumped seven spots and secured 14th place after his impressive bowling in the ongoing T20I series against England.

Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, however, retained the top slot on the T20I bowler’s list followed by South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi in the second spot.

 

KARACHI: Various records tumbled as the opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan powered the Green Shirts to a thumping 10-wicket victory over England in the second T20I. 

After struggling with the bat in the Asia Cup 2022, captain Babar came back with a stunning ton on Thursday at Karachi’s National Stadium, becoming the only Pakistani player to score two centuries in T20 internationals.

The resounding win strengthened Babar’s record not just as a batter but also as the team’s leader. With his 30th T20I victory Babar became the most successful captain of Pakistan in T20Is, surpassing Sarfaraz Ahmed, who led the Green Shirt in 29 T20I wins.

The unbeaten 203-run partnership between the skipper and Rizwan became the highest partnership for Pakistan.

The pair bettered their own previous record of a 197-run stand against South Africa in 2021. On both occasions, the Green Shirts were chasing the targets. Thus, making it the only pair who put on 175 or more in a single T20I stand while chasing. Babar and Rizwan have done it twice.

This is the 5th 150+ partnership between Babar and Rizwan, most by any pair in T20 internationals. No other pair did it more than twice.

Moreover, the magical duo registered their 7th centurion stand. The top five partnerships for Pakistan in T20Is belong to Babar and Rizwan.

During his blistering knock of 110, Babar also became the second fastest batter to score 8000 T20 runs in 218 innings.

READ: ‘We don’t let such things affect our team’ Babar replies to critics

KARACHI: Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan responded to former captain Moin Khan’s statement regarding him and asserted that he does not need to play on the offside.

Rizwan, while talking to the media after Pakistan’s six-wicket loss to England in the first T20I, responded to a question regarding Moin’s statement, who called him a one-dimensional player, by stating that there is no problem if he can play on the leg side.

“If I can hit the off-stump delivery on the leg side then I think there is no problem in that. May Allah rewards those who are talking about my command on the offside,” Rizwan stated.

“I don’t need to play on offside although If I can play a shot on the leg side from off stump, I can also play from off stump to cover,” he maintained.

It is apropos to mention that Moin while speaking on ARY News’ show Bouncer highlighted a weakness in the batting approach of wicketkeeper batter Rizwan and alleged that the latter is a one-dimensional batter and prefers to score on the on-side.

“Rizwan, on the other hand, plays on one side only and he needs to score on the other side as well or else he will be trapped,” Moin stated.

Rizwan then also commented on Pakistan’s dismal performance against England in the series opener and asserted that the management is trying to make a combination for the World Cup.

“Everyone knows that little changes are being made. We are trying to make a combination for the World Cup so if you make changes, there will be an error,” Rizwan said.

The top-ranked T20I hitter responded to a question about playing too many dot balls by acknowledging the criticism and saying he and Pakistan captain Babar Azam are striving to address the issue.

“We are playing too many dot balls, we will work on it and also inform the players further,” Rizwan said.

It is pertinent to mention here following the series opener triumph, England lead the seven-match T20I series 1-0.

The action-filled T20I series is being streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.

READ: Hales, bowlers power England to seal series opener against Pakistan

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper batter Moin Khan made a major assertion regarding Mohammad Rizwan and stated that he only favours to play on the leg side and will soon be trapped by the opposing teams.

Moin, while speaking on ARY News’ show Bouncer highlighted a weakness in the batting approach of wicketkeeper batter Rizwan and alleged that the latter is a one-dimensional batter and prefers to score on the on-side.

“If you look at the openers of world-class teams, their strike rates are above 130. So, I think Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan need to improvise their game and approach as they are now in dire need to ante their strike rate up,” said Moin.

“I think Babar is currently going through a rough form, no doubt on his capabilities, he is a wonderful player. Rizwan, on the other hand, plays on one side only and he needs to score on the other side as well or else he will be trapped,” Moin maintained.

The former Pakistan captain then also opined regarding the possibility of testing a new opening pair for T20Is and claimed a left-handed batter like Sharjeel Khan and Fakhar Zaman would be more productive.

“I said it earlier in the Asia Cup that a left-right combination should be made in the opening since Babar had been playing at the one-down position so he should have demoted himself and promoted Fakhar to the opening position,” said Moin.

“Such combination is very deadly as it also makes it harder for the bowlers to stick to their line and length. So, you have to take a chance, it is inevitable and if you don’t want to take such chances and want to play conventional cricket then you’ll remain a conventional and an average side forever,” he added.

Moin then further commented on the Pakistan cricket team’s middle-order voes and termed Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, and Iftikhar Ahmed lucky for getting the backing despite having a below-par tournament.

“There is no doubt, changes could have been made to the current middle-order but as a former cricketer, I always support the team. So, I think we need to back them now,” said Moin.

“No doubt, our middle-order had a poor Asia Cup and they could have done better in the tournament but I think Khushdil, Asif, and other middle-order batters are lucky as they got the backing from the management after a poor tournament,” he added.

The former Pakistan captain then went on to highlight the flaws in the leading skills of current skipper Babar and stated that “it’s about time to improve his captaincy skills.”

“As we saw in the Asia Cup final that Pakistan lost the match after a dominating start, we should have adopted the attacking approach but we did not and lost the momentum. I wonder what was this support staff doing there if they could not pass on a message to Babar and told him to go for the kill,” said Moin.

“So, I think he is consistently making mistakes in the captaincy and we always think that he’ll learn things soon but he is not. It’s about time Babar. The world cup is nearing up and we do not have room for blunders now and if you still keep on making mistakes then I do not think we would be able to win it,” he concluded.

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DUBAI: After his dismal run in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam dropped to the third spot on the latest ICC T20I rankings while wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan retained his top position.

Babar lost his spot to South Africa’s Aiden Markram, who claimed second place on the T20I batters’ list with 792 rating points while the stylish Paksitani batter plunged to 771 points, according to the latest rankings released by the International Cricket Council on Wednesday.

Rizwan, on the hand, stayed at the No.1 spot with 810 rating points after being the top scorer in the Asia Cup 2022.

Meanwhile, the other top performers of the event, Indian star-batter Virat Kohli and Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, made giant strides in the rankings.

Kohli jumped 14 spots to secure the 15th position on the T20I batters’ rankings as he regained his form during the Asia Cup, scoring 276 runs in the tournament including a brilliant century against Afghanistan that ended his three-year wait for the 71st international ton.

Hasaranga’s heroic performances for the winning team earned him a fourth position on the all-rounder rankings and sixth on the bowlers’ list.

Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi lost his top spot as Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan overtook him to become the new No.1 T20I all-rounder.

READ: Pakistan win inaugural Over-60s Cricket World Cup in Australia

DUBAI: Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan has surpassed the skipper Babar Azam to become the new No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world after the latter retained the top spot for 1155 days.  

According to the latest released rankings by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, Rizwan has scaled to the top of the T20I rankings for the very first time in his career with 815 points, thanks to his sublime form in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, where he has amassed 192 runs in 3 matches, including a scintillating 71-run knock against India on Sunday.

Rizwan became the third Pakistani batter to achieve the top rank in the T20Is as previously Mishah ul Haq and Babar were the only two Pakistani batters to do so.

Babar, on the other hand, lost the spot to his compatriot and opening partner as he slipped to the second position with 794 rating points. So far, Babar failed to impress with the bat in the ongoing tournament.

Babar’s stay at the top position was the longest by any batter in the T20I rankings.

Meanwhile, India’s Suryakumar Yadav slid to the fourth position as South Africa’s Aiden Markram claimed the third spot with 792 rating points.

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LAHORE: Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan will be available for selection in the national team’s next Asia Cup Super Four clash against Afghanistan, scheduled on Wednesday.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Rizwan, who seemed to have sustained an injury during the anticipated clash between the arch-rivals Pakistan and India, will be fit for the side’s tomorrow’s fixture against Afghanistan.

Rizwan, however, will enjoy a rest day today and will not participate in the team’s scheduled practice session, in order to be completely fit for the Afghanistan match.

Earlier, the details suggested that the right-handed batter was suspecting a strain in his right leg. Rizwan had an improper landing on his right leg as he jumped to gather the bouncer off Mohammad Hasnain’s bowling and laid on the ground in gruelling pain.

The wicketkeeper batter, however, carried on to keep wickets for the rest of the innings and also displayed great determination in a tense run chase. He top-scored for the side with an anchoring knock of 71 runs and batted for almost 17 overs.

READ: Sarfaraz’s 62* goes in vain as CP down Sindh in National T20 Cup

DUBAI: Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan will undergo a precautionary MRI scan today at a local hospital here, Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed.

According to the details, the right-handed batter is suspecting a strain in his right leg. Rizwan had an improper landing on his right leg as he jumped to gather the bouncer off Mohammad Hasnain’s bowling and laid on the ground in gruelling pain.

The wicketkeeper batter, however, carried on to keep wickets for the rest of the innings and also displayed great determination in a tense run chase. He top-scored for the side with an anchoring knock of 71 runs and batted for almost 17 overs.

Rizwan seemed to have to deal with a lot of pain during his match-winning knock and therefore, will be undergoing an MRI scan of his right leg.

It is pertinent to mention here that Rizwan is the only wicketkeeper batter in Pakistan’s squad for the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

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SHARJAH: Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan made a major assertion that none of the current Pakistan pacers can make up for the absence of the ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Following his anchoring and unbeaten 78-run knock against Hong Kong, Rizwan spoke with the media. In response to a question on Shaheen’s absence from the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, he remarked that no bowler could replace the ace pacer.

“None of these bowlers can make up for Shaheen’s absence but anyone can become Shaheen on a given day,” said Rizwan.

The player of the match for Pakistan in a must-win clash against Hong Kong – Rizwan also opined regarding the early stages of the game and acknowledged that the batters were finding it hard to get going initially.

“It was difficult in the beginning, but after getting the hang of it, we did quite well,” Rizwan stated.

The right-handed batsman, who led the way for Pakistan in their most recent match against India on Sunday, continued by comparing every game versus India to a final match as he discussed the Green Shirts’ upcoming tense encounter with their bitter rivals on September 4.

“Every match against India is very challenging like a final. It is a pressure game and it is on Indian players as well,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan thrashed Hong Kong by a massive margin of 155 runs and qualified for the Super Fours of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

The Green Shirts will now take on their arch-rivals India in an anticipated clash on September 4.

READ: Pakistan thrash Hong Kong by 155 runs to book Super 4s spot in Asia Cup 

DUBAI: Pakistan left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman and wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan given rest from the national squad’s scheduled training session for their must-win clash against Hong Kong in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

According to the details, the Pakistan contingent underwent a training session for their Group A fixture against Hong Kong, at the ICC Cricket Academy Ground.

The national players carried out vigorous fielding drills alongside net sessions for bowling and batting practice.

Three Pakistan pacers – Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Shahnawaz Dahani, who were given rest from the Tuesday’s training session have rejoined the squad.

Whereas, the head coach of the national cricket team Saqlain Mushtaq did not supervise the training session as a result of minor pain in his knee. Reports suggest that a ball hit his knee during yesterday’s training session.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan will take on Hong Kong in a must-win game on September 2 in a bid to make their way into the Super 4s of the Asia Cup 2022.

Defending champions India and Afghanistan have already booked their Super 4s spots following a dominant unbeaten show in their respective groups.

READ: Yadav, bowlers star as India thrash Hong Kong to secure Super 4s berth